This invention relates to monitoring devices and to training systems for use in monitoring and correcting errant hand movements of a golfer and more particularly to monitoring errant hand movements during a swing of a golf club by a golfer.
Devices for monitoring the movement of one limb with respect to another of an athlete are known in the art. Harrison (U.S. Pat. No. 2,064,603) shows a wrist mounted device with an audio output that is used for monitoring movements of a golfer's power arm during a swing of a golf club. Trask (U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,721) shows a club mounted device with an audio output that is used for monitoring wrist movements of a golfer's leading arm during a golf club swing. Butler (U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,688) shows an arm mounted device with an audio output for monitoring wrist movements on the golfer's leading arm. DeMascolo (U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,569) places a spring steel snapper in a strategically located pocket of a glove or limb wrap that may be mounted on a golfers arm to provide an audio output when there is errant wrist movement. Bittner (U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,065) shows a leading arm mounted device with an audio and light output that is designed to signal errant movements of the elbow during a golfer's club swing. Salzman (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,392,830 and 4,527,982) show a body mounted device for monitoring head movements that result in an audio output from an earphone worn by the athlete. Harrison (U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,028) has a power arm mounted device for signalling movement of the upper arm away from the golfer's body during a golf swing.
Other devices for monitoring an athlete's limb movements are also evident in the art. Murray (U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,726) shows a glove with pressure sensitive switches that are used in an audible alarm circuit for detecting errant limb movements. Evens (U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,857) has a limb attachment that is equipped with an accelerometer and strain gage for monitoring movements of a limb and where a signal bearing the errant movement information is transmitted by an rf carrier to a location apart from the athlete for recording or display purposes. Whiteneir (U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,829) has a device for monitoring a tennis player's wrist movements and which provides for delivering different audible signals in varying intensities from an earphone provided the athlete, the signals delivered being different for errant movements of the wrist in opposite directions from a predetermined center position and more intense or louder as the deviation of the errant movement from the center position becomes greater. Kleinerman (U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,123) has an device for monitoring arm movements of a bowler and where a audio sound is produced if the bowler executes the ball delivery without errant movements. Brunner (U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,441) has a racket mounted device for monitoring the players swing and comparing it with computer recorded swing information, provisions being made to provide audible and visual signals that indicated compatibility or incapatability between the monitored swing movements and recorded swing information.
Most of the prior art monitoring devices lack an effective or practical means for establishing a reference position for the limb movement being monitored. In those cases where a reference position can be established for operation of the monitoring device and where the reference position can also be changed to accommodate the needs of the player, the errant limb movement signals become perceivable as soon as the reference position is vacated by the limb being monitored. Thus, there is an intolerance in known devices for deviations from the reference positions.
Furthermore, many of the prior art approaches are considered universally applicable for use in all sports that involve limb movement when in fact the errant movements of a limb being monitored in playing one sport are usually quite different from those in another sport. Thus, the problems involved in the monitoring of a golf club swing are different from those encountered in tennis or baseball.
Another shortcoming in the use of prior art monitoring systems is the lack of regard for independent observers or teachers and almost total reliance upon the athlete's determinations. Most devices rely solely on the user's judgment for making an adjusting response to the errant movement detected by use of the monitoring devices when, in fact, the errant movement may be a compensating movement caused by an errant and unmonitored movement in yet another part of the body. Thus, a proper shifting of the body weight from one foot to the other is as equally important during a golf club swing as is the maintenance of a parallel relationship between the back of the hand and axis of the leading arm used in the swing. The student golfer who relies solely on a monitoring device for corrective information is frequently mislead by the seemingly errant movements detected thereby.